


Just One

by EagleHorn



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ambiguous Gender My Unit | Byleth, Drinking, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, M/M, Not Beta Read, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 14:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30040017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EagleHorn/pseuds/EagleHorn
Summary: Byleth is always the responsible one. Taking care of everyone. Being the sober adult. Making sure they all get home safe after an evening in the tavern. For just one night, Claude wants Byleth to be able to relax, knowing someone else is on guard duty for the Deer.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Just One

Rain.

Claude’s entire existence was rain.

For the two days since the encounter with Maurice the Golden Deer had encountered nothing but rain. And mud. Which, as Lorenz was quick to remind everyone, was **not** a proper place to sleep at night.

While it didn’t save him from the rain, Claude was grateful that his wyvern spared him from hearing Lorenz’s complaints all. Day. Long. Hilda was not nearly so lucky. And she had been sure to give Claude his share whenever he landed. What a true friend.

Claude’s mobility also allowed him to do some scouting. Likely prey, some good places to forage, and, most importantly to him right now, a **dry** place to sleep. He was about to give up for the third night in a row when he spied a tendril of smoke barely making itself known through the wall of water falling from the sky. Claude flew closer, confirmed there was a small village with what appeared to be a traveler’s inn, and returned to his companions.

“Lodgings ahoy!” he called down.

“Very funny mister leader man” grumped Hilda as she walked, no, trudged, along the muddy path.

“Truly! There’s a small village maybe 30 minutes ahead at your current pace. Should be able to get there before full dark.”

Hilda’s expression flickered between hope and distrust of the chronic prankster. Claude sighed, landed behind the small crew, and dismounted, jogging to catch up. Well, trying to jog. Even walking was hard with how his feet sank into the mud with every step. “Would I come down here and walk beside you if I thought it were going to take long?”

The eyes that landed on Claude were assessing. Hopeful, but cautious. Which, after the incident where he recommended they set up camp in the middle of—

“Claude. What are the extent of the facilities? Are they truly adequate for a party such as us?” Lorenz questioned.

“Ah. Well. I didn’t look too closely. I just saw about four buildings, including a barn. At this point nearly any roof is looking good to me.”

Raphael’s booming voice reached Claude from the back of the group, “I hope they have some good food!”

“I just want to dry out my gear,” Leonie chimed in.

“Ugh. And all the **mud** in everything! Not cute at all!” Ah, Hilda.

Claude considered their former professor, who was quiet, as usual. “And what about you, Teach? What’s on your wish list for this village? Hot meal? Warm fireplace?”

“Hot tub big enough for two?” chimed in Sylvain. Ah, the flirtatious bonus Deer. Leave it up to him to make things weird. Claude’s eyeroll was painfully hard.

Byleth seemed to consider the question while the crew continued walking. “Left up to my own devices, some mulled wine would warm me up nicely.” The eyes of several former students widened at this statement. “…what?”

“Well, it’s that as long as we’ve known you, I don’t think any of us have ever seen you drink” Claude replied.

“You even managed to avoid the spiked punch at the ball!” Byleth’s eyes narrowed at Sylvain.

Claude cleared his throat. “So! Teach! You say you drink, yet we’ve never seen it. What’s up with that?”

“You were my students. And then… well, there has been a war. Every place we go, someone has to watch out for you. Make sure you get home safe. And I can’t do that if I’ve been drinking.”

Gears turned in Claude’s mind. His Teach needed a night to relax. But Claude was going to have to work to convince Byleth it was safe to take a night off guard duty.

* * *

The village **did** have an inn! And enough rooms to put up the Deer, as long as they were comfortable going 3-4 to a room. Which, for a group that had spent many a night around a campfire together, was more than adequate.

Well, maybe not for Mr. Nobility of the Purple Hair himself, but it was at least a new topic he was complaining about.

After changing into some blessedly dry clothes, Claude headed downstairs to the tavern. Based on the smells wafting up, they had already prepared the evening meal. Time for Claude to put his plan into action.

Claude spied Byleth in a corner booth, back to the wall, facing out into the room. Just like a personal guard on duty. How had he never noticed this tendency before now?

“May I?” Claude asked while gesturing to the opposite side of Byleth’s booth. A head nod answered him. Claude eased himself down. “About what you said earlier. How you never drink because you’re looking out for us. You know it doesn’t always have to be you, right?”

Byleth’s head quirked. Well, better than an outright rejection. Claude pressed on. “What if I promised to stay completely sober? Not a single drop shall I drink. You know how much I care about the Golden Deer and won’t let anything happen to them. And we’re all staying just upstairs. Teach. Please, take an opportunity to relax a bit.”

Claude stopped **just** short of the sad puppy eyes, but pored every bit of sincerity he could into his face. He truly wanted his Teach, his _friend_ to be able to share the weight of the world for a little while. Also, he wasn’t quite sure if he was breathing.

The barest of nods eventually greeted Claude. Yes! He nearly sprang out of the booth to head to the counter. “Wine, yes?” he called over his shoulder. Another nod!

A brief chat with the girl behind the counter resulted in a tray with one glass of wine, one glass of water, and two bowls of lamb stew with some crusty bread on the side. Claude carefully wove his way back to the booth, balancing everything with a dancer’s grace.

Byleth had switch sides of the booth, giving Claude the seat with the better view. To keep an eye on the Deer. Officially on guard duty then. Well, once he emptied the tray of its contents and returned it to the counter.

At last he slid back into the booth, to find Byleth had already made a large dent in the stew. The part of him that was hurt his friend didn’t wait was quickly shut up by the part that knew food was best eaten while still hot. And, truly, he was just glad to see Byleth humming in pleasure at the taste. The wine, however, had not yet been touched.

Well, not until Claude sat down and sipped on his water before tucking in. It was as though Byleth was waiting for that signal that Claude was truly serious about being on guard duty for the night. The contented face and happy little sigh that Claude got to see were well worth it. Claude almost felt like he’d had some alcohol of his own, he was so warm and happy at seeing his friend like this.

* * *

Claude studied the warrior across from him in the booth. This was a rare opportunity to ~~stare~~ take in every detail. (who was he kidding – he was totally staring) Byleth had turned to the side, legs stretching out along the bench seat, back against the wall, head lolling slightly. Even dozing, Teach exuded a very strong “do NOT mess with me” vibe that Claude found both impressive and irresistible.

Wait. Irresistible? That was not usually the word one used to describe their General. This… this would take some consideration. Claude decided to follow Teach’s lead and stretch his legs along the bench, facing into the room. His Deer were nearly the only people still up at this hour, so things were fairly quiet. Well, aside from the usual shenanigans. No outside threats.

Several of the Deer had drifted up towards Claude and Byleth throughout the night, chatting away, then drifting away. Mingling. They mostly stopped once it was clear Teach had dozed off. And Byleth hadn’t even really gotten drunk. Just… sleepy.

Claude’s eyes wandered back to the former professor. The standard dark cloak Byleth always wore was acting as a blanket, though it barely covered half. As if reading his mind, Byleth chose that moment to curl up and tuck as much as possible under the cloak. Claude had to resist the urge to add his own, larger cloak. To show Byleth was under his protection.

Again with the thoughts! Byleth belonged to no one but Byleth.

Claude had almost tamped that thought down when Sylvain wandered over and sat down in the space Byleth’s legs had just vacated. Claude was about to remove the intrusive redhead when Byleth chose that moment to straighten back out. Rather forcefully. Claude’s anger was quickly replaced with cackling laughter.

“Well. You could have just asked me to move,” Sylvain muttered as he got back to his feet. He sketched a mocking bow and wandered off. Felix, the other bonus Deer (the two had come as a package deal) scoffed. Claude quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

“The fool never gives up,” he explained. That much Claude knew, but it was interesting hearing it from Felix. “How much did the professor have, anyway?”

“Just one,” replied Claude.

Felix’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “One? One what? Barrel?”

Claude’s laughter was warm and genuine. “One glass of wine.”

“The professor is a lightweight. Who knew?” Felix muttered as he went to rejoin Sylvain.

“What say you, Teach? Are you a lightweight? Or just really needed some sleep?”

“mrgh.” Well, that was enlightening. And rather cute watching Byleth snuggle back beneath the cloak.

Ah, shit. Shit shit shit. Three times in one evening, not even being able to blame his own glass of wine? Claude had definitely caught feelings.

This was… well, not bad. It felt **good**. But, there was still a war on. And Byleth was his General, his _friend_. One thing at a time.

And the first thing was to keep an eye out. Wait for Byleth to wake up, and get Teach upstairs safe. And then… then he would really be sad he didn’t have a private room to work this out.

Shit. Staring again. Four times. Claude forced his gaze to sweep over the rest of the Deer, taking silent inventory, making sure he saw everyone as they walked past the booth on their way to the stairs to head to their own rooms. Things had quickly wound down, and now only Claude and Byleth were left in the tavern area. Even the inn’s staff seemed to have turned in for the night.

Claude sat in the silence, just thinking a while. He loved his Deer, and the chatter, and energy that always surrounded them all together. But, at the end of the night, he also loved some quiet. The chance to just **be**. The chance to just focus on his breathing, in, out, relax, in, out, feel the tension leave…

“Teach?” Claude asked tentatively.

“Yes, Claude?” came Byleth’s clear voice. No evidence of being muddled by sleep at all.

“Why?”

Byleth quirked an eyebrow, asking for clarification.

“Why pretend to be asleep?”

“Not entirely pretending.” A small smile crossed Byleth’s lips. “Wine really does make me sleepy. And the last few days really did have me just wanting to sleep now that I’m finally dry and comfortable. So I did nap for a bit. And then just… didn’t really want to move. I’m not a partier – I hope you know this by now. So… that was my relaxing. Just sitting here with you.” Byleth’s eyes flicked over to Claude before quickly retreating in… was that embarrassment?

Now, wasn’t that interesting.

“Hm. So what would you like to do for the rest of your night off of guard duty, Teach?”

Byleth’s eyes now shot to Claude’s. “Whoah! Just asking if you would like me to ensure you get safely to your room! I’m no Sylvain, after all.”

“No. You’re far more subtle.”

Claude was grateful for the low light hiding how hard he must have blushed at that. “So… what’ll it be, Teach?” he asked hesitatingly.

A pause. “Probably should turn in. Still quite a ways to go.”

Claude nodded in agreement. He slid out of the booth, and offered a hand up to Byleth, who accepted it. The pair made their way upstairs, where they parted ways to their respective rooms. Claude watching to ensure his Teach was safely behind a closed door before entering his own room.

_I am in so much trouble_ Claude thought as he made his way to his bed as quietly as possible.

**Author's Note:**

> It's a really interesting challenge to write a gender-ambiguous Byleth without resorting to "they" all the time. Which means constantly saying "Byleth", which is possibly more awkward. Ugh.
> 
> In any case, interested to hear what you think!


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